


Hold Our Destiny

by Lula_Landry



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Daddy Kink, Dominant Kylo Ren, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Light Bondage, Loss of Virginity, Love at First Sight, Misunderstandings, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Rey (Star Wars), Rey Needs A Hug, Schoolgirls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:35:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lula_Landry/pseuds/Lula_Landry
Summary: Rey Niima is almost ready to graduate high school and escape the drudgery of her life when she meets the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, a relationship with Ben Solo is beyond forbidden since he’s the stepfather of a school friend. And yet Ben’s wounded soul calls irresistibly to Rey. Like a moth to a flame, the young girl burns with desire.Logic dictates that her connection with the older man is powered by teenage lust, but Rey suspects it’s more than that. She and Ben may be destined in the stars. What’s a girl to do?
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 55
Kudos: 263





	1. Vanilla Skies

Rey Niima was one of the few people her age with no interest in becoming a social media influencer. She found it safer to be a wallflower than an exhibitionist. So when Jessika Pava- also known as the most popular girl at Wetherby Preparatory School- asked Rey to hang out, she was instantly on guard.

Rey was the anti-Jessika in so many ways.

Jess had golden curls that poured like honey down her back while Rey twisted her chestnut locks into three sloppy buns to keep it from falling into her face.

Jess had brilliant blue eyes that stood out against heavily mascara-ed lashes while Rey’s big gaze was a muddy green that changed with her moods.

Jess had managed to get her mother to agree to lip fillers and now had a pout like a puffer fish which she covered in red designer lipsticks while Rey’s pink cupid’s bow was smeared with nothing more luxurious than Vaseline.

Jess came from money and influence, hanging out with the Binky’s and Pippa’s of the world with ties to English royalty. She enjoyed glasses of pink champagne at polo matches and caviar on triangular toast at charity galas. Rey was only able to breathe the same rarefied air as Jess thanks to a scholarship program for the gifted. Rey spent her spare time studying and her weekends elbow deep in grease at her foster father’s mechanic shop.

It would have been hard to find two more different girls than Rey and Jessika. The only thing they had in common was they were both seniors with one month to go before graduation.

It was for this reason that Rey said yes to Jessika’s invitation. Why antagonise the queen bee of her school with so little time left?

Rey wasn’t silly. She saw the looks on the faces of her classmates as Jess suggested a girl’s weekend spent donning face masks, watching romcoms and eating pizza delivered straight to the door. She was thinking what everyone else was thinking- Jess was about to trap poor Rey into doing her schoolwork now that semester was almost at an end.

Rey didn’t mind so much. Doing someone else’s assignments was still easier than being stuck in a grimy workshop with her guardian. Unkar Plutt started out a mellow drunk but often turned aggressive as the night wore on, and she had the scars to show for it. His favourite game when plastered was ‘throw the tool at Rey’. He still owned the fifteen-inch wrench that had left a permanent dent in her right calf.

Rey fed Unkar a story about remaining at school over the weekend with the full-time boarders for a series of mandatory government tests. He didn’t argue since he had no wish to jeopardise the monthly cheque he received pretending to care for Rey.

After school on Friday, feeling a little like she was in a dream, Rey followed Jessika into the backseat of her chauffeured Mercedes Benz S-Class. She smelled leather and wood panelling, her eyes admiring the car’s cutting edge driving system. Unkar never had vehicles of this status in his workshop.

Now that they were alone, Jess had stopped pretending to be nice to her. The blonde scrolled through the screen of her bejewelled smartphone while Rey settled back to enjoy the ride. She decided this whole weekend was an adventure, one she could still appreciate for its novelty.

Twenty minutes later, the gleaming black car arrived at a luxury apartment block. Rey tried not to gape as they pulled into an underground parking garage with polished cement floors and brilliant fluorescent lighting. The black Merc slid into place beside a chilli red Ferrari, a silver Bugatti Chiron and a dark green Jaguar F-Pace.

“I can’t believe you live here,” she said in awe.

Jess looked up from her phone, her expression sour. “I don’t. And if my slag of a mother doesn’t get her act together, I never will.”

Rey blinked. “What d’you mean?”

“My stepfather bought this penthouse as an investment,” Jess explained begrudgingly. “I had to beg him to let us crash for the weekend. I mean, how perfect is this location? We’re in the heart of London surrounded by nightclubs and restaurants. Usually I’m at mummy’s cottage in Hampstead. Bo- _ring.”_

“So the place is empty?” Rey asked. “It’s just us?”

Jessika’s face grew even more disgruntled. “It used to be. And then mummy and the newbie had a huge blowout fight. He’s living here now.”

Rey was struggling to keep up with Jessika’s comments. She slipped out of the car behind the other girl, giving the implacable chauffer a smile which garnered no response.

“Newbie?” she asked as Jess slapped a sleek silver square that doubled for an elevator button.

Polished bronze doors slid open and the two girls stepped into an elevator panelled with mirrors and edged with more shining bronze fixtures. Rey watched as Jess swiped an electronic key card and hit the button for the top floor. Her heart did a jig.

They were staying in the penthouse suite! How amazing was that? If it was schoolwork Jess wanted her to do, she’d make sure the blonde got B plusses just for this experience. Rey could aim for A’s but with Jessika’s prior academic record, it would probably be too suspicious.

“The newbie is my stepfather,” Jess clarified. “He’s mummy’s fourth husband, poor git. I think he’s finally realizing Qi’ra Pava might not be the woman he thought she was.”

Elevator doors opened and the girls stepped into a luxury living area of the like Rey had never before seen.

The room was a lofty double storey space in wood and stone. There was an enormous modern fireplace in plain marble surrounded by a black and white quartz wall drawing the eye upwards, emphasizing its dimensions. A trio of modern chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, circular light fixtures dotted with hundreds of tiny bulbs that brought to mind an explosion of fireworks. The massive couches were upholstered in soft grey and the central coffee table had a lavish gold sheen.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the room was its view. Floor to ceiling windows revealed a sky that currently showcased the chilly British weather while the waters of the Thames River gurgled darkly beneath. Sandwiched between the two was a stunning panorama of London city.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Jessika smirked, catching Rey’s gobsmacked expression. “Five bedrooms and bathrooms, a huge kitchen and formal dining, and the rooftop terrace is to die for.”

Rey shook her head. “I didn’t know places like this existed.”

She trailed behind Jess up a series of floating wooden stairs to the second floor. Jess slipped into the first door they came across. The room was big enough to fit Unkar’s living room, kitchen and dining in one.

Rey ran a hand over smooth linens in eggshell white, admiring Scandinavian blonde wood furniture. One wall of the bedroom was pure glass like the living room below overlooking the Thames, but Jess pressed a switch which brought cream window shades rolling down to hide the view.

Rey watched as Jess began pawing through her Gucci weekend case. When the pretty blonde pulled out a shimmering dress and glittering stilettos, Rey had a pretty good idea what was about to happen next.

“Why am I here, Jess?” Rey asked. Jess hadn’t told her to bring a nice outfit so she clearly didn’t expect Rey to follow wherever she was going.

“You’re my alibi,” Jess smirked. “Not that the newbie is anywhere to be seen. I may not have needed you after all. Maybe him and mum made up and are shagging their brains out as we speak.”

Jess disappeared into the attached bathroom, her voice muffled as she changed. “I’ve been seeing this guy, Roy. He’s a DJ in one of the nearby clubs. He’s twenty-six and screws like a rabid dog.”

Rey blinked at the description. She presumed that was a good thing.

Jess kicked the bathroom door open with a bare foot and kept talking as she applied makeup at the sink. “Mum caught me with him the other night, didn’t she? Had a right conniption. So I asked the newbie if I could stay here instead.”

Rey leant against the door frame. Normally she prided herself on her ability to decipher problems but nothing about Jessika’s story was making sense.

“How am I your alibi?”

Jess paused in the act of filling her lined pillow lips with a creamy cherry lipstick. “Are you kidding? Look at you, Rey. You practically scream virgin geek.”

Well, that stung.

“You’re also on the front page of the school website because you won that acceptance to Cambridge.” Jess rolled her eyes. “It was all mummy could talk about to the newb, pretending she wants me to get an education rather than marry Lord Carmichael’s oldest.”

The truckload of superficiality pouring out of Jess was giving Rey a headache.

 _Four more weeks,_ Rey told herself. Four more weeks and she would be done with Wetherby Prep and girls like Jessika Pava.

“I told mum and the newbie that you were helping me study for finals. I was certain he’d be hanging around to check you out, but he’s not even here. Brilliant!”

Rey chewed on her lower lip. “Let me get this straight. You’re going out to a club to meet your boyfriend…”

“And you’re gonna stay here,” Jess said, running a black wand over her lashes. “Raid the fridge, watch telly if you like. I probs won’t be back till tomorrow morning.”

Trying not to sound too eager, Rey said, “I suppose I could do that.”

This was working out better than she hoped. Sure, Jess was using her like a lower class citizen, but who cared? Rey had an entire penthouse to explore.

Jess sat on the edge of the bed and tied the straps of her high heels around her ankles, doing up jewelled buckles with blood red nails. She tottered precariously as she stood, simultaneously fluffing honey blonde hair. “How do I look?”

Rey beamed. “Gorgeous.”

Rey walked Jess back to shining elevator doors. Due to the building’s security precautions, Rey would be trapped inside until Jess returned but that didn’t really bother her. She had her phone if she needed to call for help.

As soon as Jess left, Rey returned to the huge living room. She stood in front of towering glass walls overlooking the Thames, awed by the beauty before her. The sun was setting and the city lights were coming on, creating a skyline that was as famous as it was stunning.

Eventually she wandered back to the guest bedroom, running her fingers over smooth stone finishes along the way. There were no photographs and few personal touches, but this only made her feel more comfortable and less of an interloper.

Rey showered in the black and white marble bathroom, almost moaning with pleasure as jets of hot water from three different shower heads hit her body all at once. She shamelessly ignored her personal toiletry bag with its standard items from Boots pharmacy and instead used the products Jess had left scattered across the countertop.

She was fascinated by bottles and tubes with French names and filled with organic ingredients she would normally have cooked with rather than smeared all over her skin. She even washed her hair and was able to clean the black engine gunk out from under her nails for the first time in ages.

She exited the bathroom in a cloud of rosemary and vanilla, pink cheeked and bright eyed, her locks feathery from a high-end hairdryer. She considered the few items of clothing she’d packed but chose not to put on any underwear. She was alone, after all.

Rey slipped on an oversized faded purple t-shirt with a Cadbury chocolate logo and silky lavender Teletubbies boxer shorts she’d discovered at the bottom of a Marks & Spencer bargain bin. She pulled on fleecy green sleep socks and wished she’d remembered her robe.

A sudden wave of hunger made her head go funny. Rey rummaged through her school bagpack and found a lollipop. Cherry flavoured- her favourite.

Sticking the sugary goodness into her mouth she went looking for something decent to eat. She wished Jess had hung around long enough to order her a pizza, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. She’d settle for toast and jam at this point. Unkar rarely had anything in the fridge at home but at least Rey could fill up on cereal.

Rey found the kitchen and dining area back on the main floor of the penthouse, a gorgeous space with more expensive stone fixtures. The dining table had a polished dark wood top and was able to seat ten. A long fireplace clad in grey and white marble ran along one wall and Rey wished she knew how to light it. She was starting to feel cold.

The attached kitchen had black cabinetry with a mirror finish and a huge white stone island. Rey went looking for light switches but couldn’t see any. There was a complex looking panel set into the wall but tapping on it did nothing more than bring up a blinking light.

Frustrating. The apartment was so state-of-the-art she was struggling to figure out its basic functions. Fortunately enough light filtered in through the huge windows so she wasn’t completely blind. Rey shuffled her way to the gleaming black fridge in the corner and threw open the doors. Light radiated out of the expensive appliance, revealing mostly empty shelves to her dismayed gaze.

Rey cursed the sight just as all the lights in the room flickered on. She swung around in fright when she realised there was a man standing close behind her. He was big and angry, his face twisted into a scowl.

“Who the hell are you?” the stranger growled.

Based on his expression, Rey wasn’t sure she could come up with an answer that would satisfy.


	2. Blowing Me A Kiss

Rey wasn’t sure what came over her, but she panicked.

Slamming the refrigerator door shut, she attempted to dodge the looming male figure that had appeared so suddenly. Her actions were as effectual as a sluggish mosquito avoiding the angrily waving trunk of an elephant.

The man reached out a long arm and grabbed her around the midriff, easily picking her up and pulling her to him. His chest was like a wall, hard and broad and solid. She pushed against it but he did not move, simply grabbing her wrists with his other hand and pinning them behind her back.

He’d so effortless restrained her that Rey’s panic ratcheted up to terror. She let out a sound that could not have been bettered by a mouse springing a trap. Her damnable lollipop was still in her mouth and nearly fell out.

The big man shook her. “How did you get in here?”

Rey’s hazel eyes were looking everywhere except at him. She was breathing hard, heart pounding.

“Calm down,” he snapped, shaking her again but this time more gently. His accent penetrated her consciousness; it was sharp, American.

Rey realised the thick arm that grabbed her had settled under the curve of her bottom, holding her against him like a child. She wriggled again but his embrace only tightened.

“Please,” she gasped, squashed against his shirtfront.

He smelled… incredible. Like expensive male cologne and sugared lemons.

No, that wasn’t right. He was attacking her and should smell awful.

“Are you going to behave?”

He had a voice like thunder, low and dark. She could feel it course through his chest and a corresponding heat created a spurt of moisture between her legs. Bloody inconvenient.

She nodded.

Slowly, he released her, letting her socked feet touch the ground. She was still so close to him she brushed against his clothes. Feeling ridiculous, Rey pulled the lollipop from her mouth and held it clutched by her side in a white-knuckled hand.

“Look at me.”

Her chin bounced up in immediate obedience, her pulse out of control.

She met surprisingly warm amber eyes set in a face of unconventional good looks. His irregular features were put together like putty- wide cheekbones, dominant nose and a strong, tapered jawline. His mouth was the pink of raw salmon, plush and mobile. Something about it made her skin prickle. He had thick, untamed hair, as black as a raven’s wing and his pale skin was covered in a starry constellation of tiny black moles.

Rey wondered if he grew as impatient with them as she did of her ever-present freckles.

“Let’s try this again,” he said, sounding in no way calmer. It was that Darth Vader voice- it belonged to a bad guy in a Hollywood movie. “Who are you?”

“I—I’m Rey, sir. I’m Jessika’s friend.” Because her surprisingly slow-witted mind was telling her this could only be one person- the newbie. “Jess said you knew we were coming over to study, Mr Pava.”

She watched his lips curl in an expression of loathing. “My name is not Pava,” he growled.

Oh, God. She’d done it now. Of course, it wasn’t. Jess had also said he was husband number three or four. He wasn’t _actually_ Jess’s father.

No wonder he looked so young. Not much older than the substitute teacher they’d discovered in the broom closet with sixteen-year-old Antoinette ‘Toni’ Redpath…

What was wrong with her? She needed to focus.

“I’m sorry,” Rey said meekly.

He shrugged though he didn’t back off. “That’s okay, Rey. The way my marriage is working out, maybe I should have been the one to take Qi’ra’s name.”

Rey stared at him, unsure how to respond.

“Where’s Jessika?”

Uh-oh. Rey was normally an expert at dodging adult interference but right now her brain was as thick as mud. What to say?

The man’s ridiculous mouth tilted into a cynical smile. “Don’t bother. She’s out partying, isn’t she? Screwing some drug addict boyfriend in a back alley.”

“Erm…”

“Be honest with me, little girl.”

Rey’s eyes dropped to the shirt button in front of her. She wanted to undo it with her teeth.

What? No. Stop it.

She had to protect Jess. It was the only reason she was here- to be her alibi.

“Jess has- she’s just- um, she’s gone out.” Rey cringed, unsure when she’d become this bad at making up excuses. “She won’t be long…”

The man in front of her took a step forward and she scrambled away from him. He kept coming and before she knew it she was pinned against the thick marble kitchen bench. The smooth stone was chilly to touch even through the fabric of her t-shirt.

“How dare you?”

Rey looked up into the newbie’s fascinating face and a shiver travelled down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. He was furious.

“This is my house,” he snarled, his hands gripping the bench on either side of her, caging her in. “I have been disrespected and lied to enough!”

“I- I’m s-sorry…”

“If you don’t start spilling your guts right now, young lady, I’ll spank you so hard you won’t be able to sit down for a week.”

“Please…”

“You think you know what trouble is? What if I call the police and tell them you broke into my apartment?”

“Don’t…”

“I suspect your future prospects might dim with a criminal record.”

“S-sir…”

“And let’s see how your Lord of the Manor dad responds to being called down to Scotland Yard…”

“I don’t have a dad!” In desperation Rey yelled the last sentence, finally interrupting his tirade.

The newbie stared at her, taken aback. Her relief over the fact that he’d stopped yelling was promptly overtaken by mortification as she burst into hysterical tears.

There was a strained silence. Rey buried her face in the palms of her hands, desperately trying to stifle gut-wrenching sobs.

“Rey…”

Hearing that dark velvet voice speak her name with tenderness only made the tears flow harder.

This was so humiliating.

“Rey.” Big hands rested hesitantly on her shaking shoulders.

“Go ‘way!”

“Sweetheart…”

Her heart lurched in her chest, the endearment piercing flesh and bone. This tosser had scared her half to death with his height and breadth and inhumanly dark voice. He didn’t deserve to be forgiven just because he called her a pet name. How soft was she?

“I’ll go,” she squeaked.

“What?”

Rey kept her face in her hands, now wanting him to see the mess of flushed skin and tears and snot it had become. She tried to speak more clearly. “I’ll g-get my bag and go.”

He was quiet for so long she peeked at him through her fingers.

“No.”

She wiped her face hastily with the hem of her t-shirt. “What d’you mean, no? I can do as I like!"

He looked regretful. “It’s almost midnight. You should spend the night.”

“You can’t stop me,” she said huffily. “It’s kidnapping or… or wrongful imprisonment to keep me here against my will.”

Amber eyes crinkled in the corners, and then that beautiful mouth curled into a smile so broad fascinating dents showed in his lean cheeks. The monster had dimples. How could that be?

Wait. Was he laughing at her?

Broad shoulders shook. His teeth were hypnotic; he had canines long enough to please a wolf.

Rey scowled at the big man, feeling like a muppet. “What?” she demanded.

“Who’s going to think I trapped you here, missy? They’re more likely to believe you’re a pixie who’s wandered in from the rooftop garden.”

She flushed. “I’m not a pixie,” she muttered.

“Mmm, more like a gnome,” he agreed.

She glared at him.

“A troll? I hear they like to live under bridges.”

Rey turned scarlet with discomfiture. She tried to use her bony shoulder to push past the man but he was solid. Immovable.

“Let me go.”

“No.”

Rey stared at him. This was Jessika’s stepfather- surely she had nothing to fear from him. She raised her voice. “Let me go!”

“No.”

Rey lost her head again. She blamed this man with his glowing eyes and silky voice and enormous chest for her ridiculous behaviour.

She kicked his shins and connected. Rey saw him wince and instantly knew she’d gone too far.

“I didn’t want to do this,” he murmured.

“Do wha-”

The delicious mouth she’d been fixated on descended upon her. Rey gasped just as plush lips sealed over hers. His mouth was warm and soft, brushing against the thin seam of her shocked lips. Rey exhaled and his tongue dove inside, tasting her with erotic skill.

The last time Rey had been kissed like this… no, wait, she’d never been kissed like this. One fumbling session with the son of the school gardener behind the sports shed did not count. She melted like a snowflake on a radiator.

Rey leaned against the man snogging her, opening her mouth wide, hungry and eager and willing. He withdrew with a chuckle.

“Slowly,” he murmured before returning his lips to hers.

Her cheeks burned even as his tongue stroked and played, teasing until she began to respond again, more hesitantly this time. He taught her how to kiss with a slow, simmering passion that threatened to explode into a bonfire of desire. She could sense the wildness just under the skin of the beautiful man before her.

After what seemed like hours- though it must have been mere minutes- he lifted his head. “Do you feel better?”

Her mouth tingled, her lips swollen. She said nothing because there was nothing to say. He’d given her her first proper adult kiss and she didn’t even know his name.

“I should go,” Rey whispered.

He rolled his eyes. “Not this again. It’s cold and dark out there, Tinkerbell. Ugly weather for anyone, much less skinny little pixies with cold noses.”

Rey glowered at him and he laughed, short and sharp.

This man was Jessika Pava’s stepfather. She’d just been thoroughly kissed by Jess’s stepfather. She needed to run away as fast as her legs would carry her…

“What are you doing?”

Rey stared as the big man opened the fridge and began pulling out food items- butter, cheese, real garlic cloves, a bunch of green herby things, shiny red chillies.

He ignored her and reached inside a cupboard next, locating a bottle of olive oil and a packet of dried pasta- the expensive, handmade kind that was four times the price of supermarket brands.

“I’m making dinner. What are you doing?”

“Excuse me?”

He pulled out a knife and chopping block and began mincing the garlic. “Are you staying or flying, Tinkerbell?”

Rey hesitated as he poured olive oil, garlic and chilli into a small pan before turning on the stove. The fragrance of the three ingredients filled the air and her stomach growled like Godzilla about to take down Tokyo.

The big man smirked but said nothing. He filled a pot with water, sprinkled salt and set it to boil.

“I guess I could stay,” she said in a small voice.

Damn her everlasting hunger.

“Good,” Jessika’s stepfather said, chopping green herbs into a fine handful. “I’m Ben, by the way. Ben Solo.”

Rey swallowed hard. She had a feeling she would never forget that name, not until the day she died.


	3. Raising My Adrenaline

“You taste of cherries.”

Rey blushed, but the comment was spoken so coolly by Mr Solo she didn’t think it was meant to be a come-on.

She raised her half-eaten lollipop as an explanation. There was a responding gleam in his eyes that made her want to drop down and hide.

Ugh, she was so awkward.

Mr Solo pulled out a glass and set it on the kitchen bench. “Put your candy in there,” he instructed.

“What? Why?”

He gave her a predatory smile. “Dessert comes last, Tinkerbell. Didn’t your mama ever teach you that?”

A blossoming heat invaded her bones. If hunger didn’t kill her, lust would. She placed her red lollipop in the glass, feeling all kinds of silly.

“I don’t have a mother, either,” she told Mr Solo.

This pulled his attention away from the pasta cooking in the pot. “No mom or dad, Tinkerbell? Is it because pixies are born on the dew-drenched petals of roses?”

“I have a foster father,” she told him, unsure how to handle his teasing. “He’s not much of a parent but he’s okay. At least I’m not in an orphanage.”

Ben turned back to the stove and started draining noodles. “You’re the scholarship kid who got into Cambridge.”

Rey felt a little flutter of joy that he’d remembered, except hadn’t Jess said it was her mother who’d told her stepfather all about Rey?

She was such a mental. Mr Solo was a married man. A married man who was her classmate’s stepfather. What was she thinking?

He’d only kissed her to calm her down so she didn’t run screaming into the wintry night, even though the offer of food would have done just as well.

“What are you going to study?” he asked, draining pasta noodles in a colander at the sink.

She bit her lower lip.

Rey had never been so eager to talk about herself and the very oddness of that feeling made her hesitate. She knew what was happening. The dishy older bloke had snogged her and now she wanted more- more attention, more love. She’d read plenty of books on the subject. Rey was determined not to be another foster kid with abandonment issues.

Mr Solo looked at her as if wondering why she hadn’t answered.

 _Go on, then,_ she told herself. What could it hurt? It wasn’t as if she was disclosing her life story.

“Chemical engineering,” she told him.

“I employ many people with that training,” he murmured.

“You do?” she asked disbelieving.

He glanced at her and she had the grace to blush. To be fair, he looked a little young to be employing anyone.

He seemed to know what she was thinking. “Family business,” he explained.

She was curious now. “What do you do?”

“We cover a whole bunch of services, but I work with oil and gas companies,” he said, throwing the drained pasta back into the pot. “Not with the actual drilling of the oil, but the disposal of the waste created by the process.”

“Oh. Are you an engineer as well?”

He shook his head, pouring hot garlic and chilli oil onto al dente noodles. “Chemist. Someone has to work out ways to neutralise the toxins.”

“Wow,” Rey said, wide-eyed. “I just want to work with cars.”

He combined oil and pasta, and then tossed through fresh herbs. “What’s wrong with that? My dad was a mechanic- planes, not cars.”

“If I get my wish I’ll be working on racing models for the rich, not saving the planet by cleaning it up.” Her mouth was salivating as he ladled gleaming spaghetti into a shallow white bowl and shaved a miniature mountain of fresh parmesan over it.

Mr Solo shrugged. “Who knows, Tinkerbell? You might find a way to increase automotive efficiency and slow the use of fossil fuels. Put me out of a job.”

But Rey was too busy staring at the fragrant bowl to reply. She was so hungry her stomach acids felt like they might eat through the lining of her organs.

“Ready for dinner?”

“Yes, please.”

“Come here, Tinkerbell.”

She stared at him. Mr Solo was on the other side of the thick slab of marble.

“Sir?”

“You’re gonna earn your dinner, my little pixie.”

She felt a prickle of fear and desire combined. “How?”

“I’d like to keep kissing you.”

Rey looked into hooded amber eyes and nearly fell over. She suspected her soul was at stake in this moment. She wanted to say yes, let him consume her as she consumed the meal he’d cooked. That was fair trade, wasn’t it?

Instead, she was a good girl and protested. “Mr Solo, you’re married.”

He grunted in agreement. “And you’re the first female I’ve kissed apart from my wife in two long years.”

“Then why would you…”

Solo straightened, his eyes flashing, and Rey took a defensive step back. “Do you know what my wife is doing right now, Rey? Or should I say _who_ she’s doing?” His voice dripped bitterness like venom off a snake’s fangs. “I have the photos to prove she screws everyone from her masseur to the personal assistant she insisted I get her. My mother tried to warn me and I didn’t listen. I’m the fool who thought Qi’ra was in love with me.”

Rey stared at the high-strung Alpha male before her, melting at his show of wounded virility. She wished he’d go back to calling her Tinkerbell.

Solo glowered out the window at his multi-million dollar view. “I used to be frustrated I didn’t have a better relationship with Jessika. Now I know Qi’ra never intended for us to be a real family. I’m the automated machine dispensing cash whenever my plastic model of a wife requires it.”

Rey’s heart ached for this man. She told herself not to be ridiculous. What could she do for him?

She padded around the kitchen benchtop so she was standing in front of him. Rey took Mr Solo’s big hand in her little one and the glazed expression on his face disappeared. He was completely aware of her once more.

“I’m hungry,” she said quietly.

He gave her a wry smile. “Feeling sorry for the rich man, Tinkerbell? It’s okay, sweetheart. We don’t have to…”

Rey raised herself on tiptoe and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. “Starving.”

His face hardened with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

She squeaked as the big man wrapped his hands around her tiny waist and lifted her onto the island. It was high enough that her feet dangled in the air. He gripped her knees and spread them wide. She struggled to breathe as he stepped between slim thighs.

Mr Solo twirled a fork in the pasta and brought it to her lips. Rey hesitated for a second before opening her mouth. She used her tongue and lips to slide the luscious, cheesy mouthful off the tines, chewing with a moan of pleasure.

He grinned. “Good?”

“Mm-hm,” she nearly whimpered.

He waited for her to swallow before dropping a kiss on pink lips. “Good girl,” he whispered.

Rey arched her back, trying to bring herself closer to Mr Solo, but he only fed her another mouthful. She was rewarded with another kiss, one that lingered a little longer. Another bite of pasta and another kiss, this time with a swipe of tongue. Another mouthful and a brief, delectable kiss that involved his tongue between her lips. Another swallow of pasta and he kissed her long enough for her to reciprocate.

By the time Solo had fed Rey the entire bowl, leaving nothing behind but a shimmer of golden oil with flecks of chilli and herb, they were making out with the ferocity of animals in heat. Tongues tangled, teeth scraped, saliva moistened as Rey received Mr Solo’s ravenous open-mouthed embrace, his fingers in her hair and her arms tight around his neck.

His hands slipped under her baggy t-shirt, sliding up her ribcage and closing around firm little breasts. Rey nearly crowed as he massaged her soft mounds, twisting her nipples between his fingers. He broke off the kiss and gripped the hem of her top.

She clutched his forearms. “Wait.” He was breathing hard, his plush mouth wet with their mutual passion, but immediately he stopped and drew back. She tightened her hold on him. “You first.”

Mr Solo raised his eyebrows. “You surprise me, Tinkerbell.”

She watched as he unbuttoned the cuffs of his white shirt before moving on to the rest. He wore a tight white tee underneath and pulled that off as well, dropping both on the floor.

Rey stopped breathing. The man was _huge_.

He had beautiful arms, the kind Michelangelo probably had in mind when he sculpted _David_. His biceps and triceps were well defined and she wanted to kiss the taut skin that covered them. He had broad, thick shoulders and pecs, his stomach a ripple of ribbed muscles she could have used to do her washing. His body filled her vision, making her feel as tiny as the cartoon fairy he kept calling her. She wanted to lean forward and disappear inside his chest.

What kind of evil witch cheated on a man this gorgeous?

He smirked at her big eyes and parted lips. “Now you, sweetheart.”

Wanting a smidge of control in this crazy situation, Rey peeled off her t-shirt herself. Solo didn’t hesitate, surging forward and pressing a punishing kiss to her mouth. His soft, lush lips planted hot kisses along the delicate line of her jaw and down the column of her neck. He paused at her shoulder to nibble freckled skin and Rey made a face.

“What?” Mr Solo snapped, noticing her expression.

“I hate my freckles.”

“Why?”

“Who wants to be covered in brown spots?” she groused. “They’re blemishes, not beauty marks.”

He chuckled, the sound travelling from his lips through her skin. “It’s winter and you’re as tanned as English toffee,” he mused. “The golden flakes on your skin just make you that much more beguiling.” He kissed his way further down, stopping at the gentle curve of her breast. He licked silken skin with lusty enjoyment. “I like your tits, Tink.”

A pleasant shiver travelled up her spine as he lapped at her flesh. “They’re too small,” she mumbled. He latched onto a nipple and bit down until she squealed. “Hey!”

He resumed a gentle suckle, easing the sting to her taut bud. “That’s for being so down on yourself.”

“They _are_ too small,” she protested.

He gripped the neighbouring bud between sharp teeth and Rey shuddered. “Mr Solo!”

“Behave,” he murmured, scraping tender flesh. “Your breasts are perfect- soft and perky with nipples like strawberries.”

She whimpered as he licked circles around each tip, his hand massaging the neighbouring mound. When at last he sucked her peaks deep into the heat of his mouth, she squirmed and arched, pushing her chest in his face. The longer this went on, the more aroused she was becoming.

Rey felt her bones turn to water, her muscles like goo. She was hot and wet and achy between her legs, dampening the fabric of her satin boxer shorts. She wanted to slide off the marble bench top and wrap herself around Solo.

He was too much man for her, she suspected, but this was a magic moment removed from reality. She was Tinkerbell, a delicate creature made to be adored, and he was Ben Solo, her big, strong prince, loving her body like it was precious.

Her nipples were nearly raw from the attention being paid to them when Mr Solo raised his shaggy black head.

“How’re you doing, Tink?”

“G-good,” she stammered, feeling like she might float away any second.

“Ready for more?” Solo asked, his tone as dark as the night sky.

“More?” Rey squeaked.

He picked her up and carried her out of the kitchen. Rey didn’t see Solo grab her cherry lollipop, her thoughts too frazzled for logic, her body too aroused for caution.

Whatever this man had in mind, she was more than ready for it.


	4. A Vision Of You And Me

“Have you ever gone all the way, Rey?”

The seriousness of Mr Solo’s question and the fact that he’d used her proper name reluctantly drew Rey out of her fog of lust and desire. She stared mutely at him as he laid her on the pearl grey couch in the living room.

“Are you a virgin?” he asked more directly.

She nodded.

He spoke the next question with obvious care. “Are you sure you want to do this, Tink?”

Rey didn’t know how to tell this gorgeous specimen of manhood that she’d never wanted anything more in her life, and that included her acceptance into a top university. “Yes, please, Mr Solo.”

He chuckled at her eagerness and she blushed. “You can call me Ben, sweetheart.”

He knelt before her on plush taupe carpet while she sat on the couch in nothing more than her Teletubbies boxers and fleecy socks. She should have felt awkward and vulnerable, but her craving for Solo saturated her brain and rendered her strangely unselfconscious.

“Are you on birth control?”

“Yes,” she replied.

Unkar had insisted on it once she turned sixteen. It had been an excruciating conversation but also one of the few times her foster father showed any concern for her future.

“I can wear a rubber if you want,” Ben said, “but I promise you I’m clean. I had myself tested after finding out about Qi’ra’s extracurricular activities.”

“No condom,” Rey decided. “I had to put one on a banana in health class. It felt dodgy.”

He chuckled, kissing her once more. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’m annoying and stubborn and prickly. I’m not cute or sweet and I’m definitely not a fairy princess.”

He reached out and tucked her chestnut red hair behind one ear. “Is that right?”

Rey met his amber gaze. “I’m challenging,” she told him. “It’s in all my welfare reports. That means I’m hard to love.”

“Baby girl…” Ben spoke in a tone of voice she hadn’t heard before.

Was it pity? She felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids. “I’m not your baby girl,” she said, unaccountably angry.

He leaned forward and kissed her again. “Tonight you are.” He breathed the words like a promise. “I’ll be your daddy, Tinkerbell. I’m gonna rock you in my arms all night, make you feel so good.”

Rey’s pulse picked up speed, the muscles at the junction of her thighs clenching hard. “What do you mean…”

Ben reached for the elastic waistband of her boxers and pulled them off in one swift movement. Rey could only gape as they floated onto the floor. He was still on his knees before her as he admired her nearly nude body, her feet incongruously covered in fluffy green socks.

“Has anyone ever given you an orgasm, Tinkerbell?” he asked, his voice low and hypnotic. He ran big hands over her neck, shoulders and arms, gently massaging tanned skin.

Did he mean apart from her own hurried explorations late in the night? She blushed. “No, sir.”

“I’m not going to use you just for my pleasure, Tink. You deserve to feel good too.”

Rey’s lower lip dropped open. “That would be nice,” she whispered.

Ben’s voice took on a teacherly quality. "I'll be focusing on your whole body. I want you to be aware of every inch of your skin."

He cupped her firm little breasts in both hands and squeezed, flicking and rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. He took his time, waiting until her thick buds were fully erect, then pinched them tight and slowly increased the pressure. Rey's breathing had been deep and slow; now it began to grow shallow and ragged as the tension built up in her nipples.

“Some people use pain to emphasize pleasure,” Ben said quietly.

Rey lay quite still, trying to be a good girl, but at last it grew too much. Her back arched and she whimpered, looking imploringly at Ben. He smiled reassuringly and immediately released his hold on her pink tips. One hand resumed tenderly massaging her left breast as he bent his head and licked his way over the right one, covering her in saliva from centre to circumference before gently suckling her nipple inside his mouth. The rush of blood back into her swollen buds and his stroking tongue combined to make Rey sigh in delight.

After tending to both breasts, Ben stretched Rey out on the couch. He ran his hands in long, sweeping strokes from her shoulders over her taut breasts, thin ribcage and flat belly, his thumb dipping inquisitively into her belly button. Those warm, broad palms brushed her caramel skin and separated at the tops of her thighs. He made sure his outstretched fingers brushed the silken skin of her small, plump mound at every pass.

“Does this feel good, Tinkerbell?” he asked, his tone teasing.

“Yes, daddy,” she murmured, eyes shut.

Ben’s hands stuttered in their movement over her prone body and Rey thought she heart him swear under his breath. When he spoke next his hypnotic voice had grown deeper. “You have a beautiful sex, sweetheart. Neat pink lips and just the tiniest thatch of chestnut curls at the top of your slit.”

Rey didn’t know what to say. No one had ever complimented her vagina before.

She had started on the couch with her feet together and her thighs as tightly closed as she could manage; now, under Ben’s experienced touch, she began to relax. With every pass he made down her body his hands almost imperceptibly moved her legs a little farther apart until they were spread wide.

“You’re glistening, Tink,” he said, sounding deeply satisfied. “All that clear honey just for daddy.”

Rey flushed a little. She could feel arousal leaking out of her. She’d never been this turned on before.

Ben's left hand wandered over her breasts while his right began exploring her pussy. His touch was firm but gentle as he ran his fingers over the surface of her clitoral hood and then slid his hand between her legs and cupped her mound.

"Oh, that feels nice, daddy," she said. Rey was starting to enjoy her new name for Mr Solo. She’d never had a daddy before.

"You're doing so good, sweetheart," Ben responded softly. "I'm going to keep touching you like this for a little while, okay? You can help me by opening your legs some more."

“Anything for you, daddy,” she said, her voice sounding far away. As Ben continued to gently rub her pussy she took a deep breath and slowly spread her thighs, drawing her knees up and digging her fingers into the couch. "Like this?" she asked.

"Good girl," he said, pleased. "Now see how nice it feels when I touch you?" As he said this he ran his hands along her inner thighs, spreading her pussy lips wide with firm pressure on either side of her weeping slit.

Rey’s eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to look. She had never seen anything so erotic as Ben’s long, thick fingers on her tan sex. Delicate pink lips ran up to meet her clitoris, the tiny ruby tongue protruding somewhat obscenely from under its hood. Her mound was bathed in clear moisture, proving how unbelievably aroused she’d become.

Her breathing became ragged again as Ben used his finger to carry some of her juices to the area around her clit, gently rubbing. Rey's hips immediately responded by moving in rhythm with his light touch, and she reached over her head with both hands to grab the arm of the couch to anchor herself. She watched her own body stretched out before her, skin flushed and small breasts heaving as he brought her closer and closer to her first man-made orgasm.

Ben continued heaping praises upon her as he focused on the task of masturbating his pixie lover, telling her what a good girl she was, how beautiful and special. Every few moments he would remove his hand completely from Rey's pussy, spending time cupping and stroking her taut breasts, allowing her body to back down from its final climax. Rey gasped to see her clitoris growing more prominent and erect each time. Her inner lips opened of their own accord to give him a perfect view into the soaking depths of her vagina. The amount of cream she was producing was remarkable.

"Your pussy has blossomed like a flower, Tinkerbell,” Ben announced with great satisfaction.

“Please, daddy,” Rey groaned. Her body was on fire, desperate to climax. “I need more.”

He chuckled low in his throat. “Good things come to those who wait, sweetheart.”

Ben resumed rubbing, flicking, and squeezing Rey’s aching pussy, moving gradually closer to the opening at the base of her slit. Her increasing arousal began to dictate her behaviour as every time he'd stop for another cool-down she would thrust her hips up in an attempt to keep his hand on her hungry vagina, growling each time he withdrew.

At last, Ben rolled Rey’s squirming body onto her side and spanked her pert little bottom, twice on each cheek. She cried out, more in shock than pain.

“Bad girl, Rey. I need you to hold still so I can finish you off.”

“I-I’m sorry, daddy,” she gasped. “I can’t. Please, just touch my clit. Please…” Her own hand slipped between her legs but he caught questing fingers just in time.

Ben stood and hauled Rey to her feet as well. “Naughty little pixie,” he snapped, his amber eyes lit with an unholy gleam. He threw Rey over his shoulder so her head dangled upside down, holding her by her freshly spanked bottom. “You need to be disciplined, baby.”

Rey quaked as he carried her upstairs to a bedroom at the end of the corridor. This room was twice the size of the one Jessika had claimed, with a magnificent four poster bed covered in mussed sheets. Ben dropped her onto the middle of the mattress and she squeaked.

“Don’t move,” he snapped, walking to his closet.

Rey couldn’t see very much. The room was lit only by city lights shining in through floor to ceiling windows. When Ben returned he was holding something in his hand. His movements were quick and decisive and before she knew it he had both her wrists wrapped and secured to carved wooden posts using silk ties. He’d even managed to tie one leg to another post before she panicked and tried to wriggle away.

“Please, daddy, no! I’ll be good,” she begged.

“Too late, Tinkerbell,” he murmured, firmly grabbing her by the ankle and winding the smooth tie around it to secure her to the fourth post. “Sometimes daddy needs to teach his little girl a lesson.”

Rey was bound spreadeagled on the big bed, her limbs held taut by soft restraints, her body flushed with unfulfilled arousal, her breath coming in audible pants. Ben sat on the bed beside her slight hips, reaching between slim thighs to tug and rub at the wet, swollen lips of her pussy. She moaned and tried to arch her body once more, but he’d secured her too well.

“Tinkerbell?”

Rey raised her head to look at him, her eyes glazed and her mouth gasping for air.

“Daddy’s gonna slide a finger inside your little pussy, okay sweetheart? I want to see how tight you are, and I may even need to stretch out your pink tunnel for later.”

Rey nodded frantically.

Ben slipped one finger inside the confines of Rey's vagina easily. She was tremendously tight but her copious juices lubricated his entry. He pressed further until he encountered resistance about one knuckle deep.

“You’re pulsing all around me, Tink,” he murmured. “I think you can take another.”

He slid a second finger into her soaking wet pussy, enjoying how wet and warm she was, his thumb teasing circles around her engorged clit. Rey gasped at the fulness of his two fingers, the sensation compounding the crackle of electricity in the tiny bundle of nerves at the top of her slit.

“Are you ready, baby?”

She mewled piteously, teetering on the edge of a precipice and desperate to take a swan dive over it.

Ben stopped touching her. “I asked you a question, Tink,” he said sharply.

“Y-yes, daddy, please, please,” Rey almost sobbed in response.

At this, he placed his thumb directly onto the quivering nodule of her clit and began stroking. Rey squealed, thrashing about in the throes of an impressively violent climax, straining the bindings around her four limbs. Through the intensity of her orgasm she heard Ben chuckle. He calmly continued to lightly tap her bud in a steady, rapid rhythm as his two thick fingers remained snugly ensconced in the warm, wet depths of her virgin pussy until her unbridled orgasm had run its course. Eventually she shuddered to a halt, completely spent, her body glistening with a fine layer of sweat.

Rey sank into the mattress breathlessly limp, her skin flushed. Ben covered her mound with his hand, rubbing firmly across the whole surface of her pussy. She whimpered, grinding into his palm as the aftershocks of her sharp climax made her body hum.

“How was that, Tink?”

Rey forced her eyes open and looked into Ben’s smug face. “It was perfect, daddy,” she replied dreamily. “Will you untie me now?”

“I’m not done, sweetheart,” he murmured, holding something up.

Rey stared at her lollipop in confusion. “What…”

Ben stuck the sugary end into his mouth and sucked, moistening the red circumference. He then removed it and slid the round tip along her pink slit. Her heart began to pound all over again. She moaned when he bent his dark head and ran his tongue along the seam of her wet sex.

He looked up at her, a wicked smile on his face. “Cherries and cream, my favourite.”

Rey spent the next several minutes fighting the bonds that kept her tied down, spread wide open as Ben lovingly ate her out. He dipped the lollipop inside her, licking it along with her slick, quivering flesh, lapping at her clit and reducing her to a boneless mess all over again. Once the sweet pop disappeared, he replaced its sticky intrusion with his fingers, easing one, two and finally three digits deep inside her, gently thrusting as he nibbled and licked the soft flesh of her pussy.

Ben gave her three more exquisite orgasms, the final one leaving Rey nearly mindless with sensations. She begged him to stop, her core overheated and unbearably sensitive.

He smiled at her as she twisted against her bonds. “I guess you’re ready then.”

Rey licked her lips, tasting sweat, half-crazed from the bliss he’d given her. “Ready for what, daddy?”


	5. Banging On A Heart Of Tin

Mr Solo untied her before they made love.

No, he’d asked her to call him Ben.

Except now she was whispering, “Daddy, daddy, daddy,” over and over again like a spoilt little girl begging for a pony.

He’d done this to her, she realised, made her believe she could be someone else’s precious fairy princess.

His cock was a revelation; long and thick, nearly splitting her in half. The sting of newly stretched muscles had quickly given way to the sensual pleasure of his thrusting shaft, in an out, in and out, until she orgasmed all over again, this time with him buried deep inside her.

Rey thought her first orgasm was the best thing she’d ever experienced, but this… this was better. To be joined to a man… no, not any man… this man… to be joined to him and have him shudder and come inside her… to know he’d found his bliss in her… it made her think things she never thought possible.

She should have felt out of control after giving her virginity to a man she barely knew- he’d popped her cherry, she realised with a delirious giggle- but instead Rey felt grounded. She was uncertain about so much in life, staking her future on her big brain and an acceptance into her dream university, but there was nothing uncertain about how she felt for Ben Solo. Rey’s emotions were clear and solid and true.

She was in love. For the first time in her life, someone had her heart. And she hadn’t given it to him- oh, no. He’d taken the poor, palpitating organ, stolen it from right under her nose.

Oh, what she’d give to have his nose buried in her pussy again.

He seemed to sense her hunger, flipping her onto her belly, spreading her legs into a split and sliding inside her swollen sex in one go. His warm, smooth balls tickled her raw clit with every pump and thrust of his cock. She gave a soft scream as she climaxed wetly around him yet again.

And so it was that Ben fucked her through the night, his endurance seemingly inhuman. The sun was peeking out on the horizon when at last Rey fell asleep in his sweaty arms.

She was right where she wanted to be.

Rey awoke the next morning in confusion. There was an incessant buzzing that had finally broken through her deep and exhausted sleep.

She blinked bleary eyes, startled by the amount of daylight coming in through bedroom windows. It was another dreary English winter’s day, but she still wasn’t used to the sight of London’s sweeping skyline.

Rey heard a mumbled oath and to her dismay the warm body she’d been pinned under rolled away. Ben looked like a prehistoric male with his thick shoulders and chest, glossy black hair as wild as a thornbush, muscles rippling as he reached out and hit a console on his bedside table. The buzzing stopped.

“What…” Rey gave a little cough as her throat seized up on her. She croakily tried again. “What was that?”

She gazed at his broad back with inescapable lust, wanting to kiss every mole that speckled pale skin. Ben’s response brought Rey crashing back to earth.

“Jessika.”

She sat bolt upright, grabbing the edge of a sheet to give herself a modicum of modesty. “Oh, no! Is she on her way up? She can’t find us together.”

He rubbed his face with an open palm, sliding off the bed to reveal his hard body in all its glorious splendour. “Don’t I know it,” he grumbled.

Rey was momentarily stunned by the sight of Ben’s nude form, but then told herself to stop faffing about. “Should I return to the guest bedroom? Where are my clothes? Oh my God, are they still downstairs?”

“Hush, Tinkerbell,” he groaned. He stretched and again her brain whited out.

At last, Ben turned to face her and Rey resumed babbling. “Jess will kill me if she discovers what happened! I need to get dressed. No, I need a shower. And I should collect my clothes. At least it isn’t underwear that’s tossed about the living room. And _why aren’t you moving faster?”_

“I’ve locked her out.”

Rey was on her feet, sheet wrapped awkwardly around her body as she prepared to dash down the hallway, but Ben’s words brought her to a standstill.

“What?”

“Locked. Out.” He yawned.

She never thought she would have such an overwhelming desire to punch his handsome face. _“What?”_

“Did you really think I’d give that spoilt brat unlimited access to my place? I control security so I changed the locks. Jess will need to ask the building concierge to re-code her swipe card, and she definitely doesn’t have the authority to do that.”

“When… where… how…” Rey felt like an idiot as her brain attempted to put together a coherent sentence.

Ben smirked. “Somewhere between your first and third orgasm, Tink. Definitely before the fourth one.”

She blushed like a hothouse flower, her gaze going everywhere but Ben. Except… he was still unabashedly naked and she should enjoy the sight.

Yup, there he was. And semi-erect, bless his heart.

“Like what you see?” Ben asked, and another blush scalded Rey’s cheeks.

Goodness, what was wrong with her? She should be acting cool, relaxed. She didn’t want to look like a pathetic little teenager with no experience in the romance department, even if that was exactly what she was.

If she could convince Ben she was mature beyond her years maybe he’d want to see her again.

Wait, was she serious? Ben Solo was way out of her league. Not only was he a grown man with his own business empire, there was that little factor of his cheating wife and ungrateful stepdaughter, both of whom would probably run Rey over with their Aston Martins if they found out about her.

But her only other alternative was equally unthinkable; she could walk away and never see Ben again. The very idea made her sick to her stomach.

Rey nearly jumped out of her skin when Ben cupped her face, his warm amber eyes piercing straight through hazel ones to her soul. “I can see you have a lot on your mind, Tink.”

Stupid girl- now he thought she was freaking out over their night of passion. Except she kinda was, wasn’t she?

“Why don’t you go back to the guest bedroom and have a shower? I’ll clean up as well and we’ll meet in the kitchen for breakfast.”

Rey had the sudden urge to cry. Ben had probably been about to suggest an intimate shower before she ruined everything by standing there looking like a stunned mullet.

_Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry. You’ll send him running in the other direction._

“Okay, Mr Solo,” she said, cringing on the inside as soon as she heard herself speak.

Why hadn’t she called him Ben? Typical of her to keep sticking her foot in her mouth.

Rey scurried away as fast as she could, not wanting to see regret on Ben Solo’s face. He was probably wondering how best to get rid of her from his apartment.

She collected her boxers from the living room and her t-shirt from the kitchen before returning to the luxury bathroom. This time Rey used her basic strawberry scented shower gel, wincing as she ran soapy fingers over her body. She felt lightly scorched between the legs, sore and achy but not in an entirely unpleasant way.

She pulled on a black tank top and over it a soft green long-sleeved knit, loose and hanging nearly to her hips. She debated over whether to wear her faded blue skinny jeans but the sting in her sex finally convinced her to slip on her pleated grey school skirt instead. A pair of scuffed knee-high black suede boots completed the outfit.

Rey brushed her chestnut red hair until it shone, tying it into a slightly more sophisticated three buns instead of her infinitely lazier ponytail. She applied a smidge of Jessika’s lipgloss but didn’t try to use any other makeup. She was pretty useless at the stuff.

Jessika. Rey felt a tiny pang of guilt that the other girl had been locked out of the penthouse. Granted, Ben had every right to do so and it wasn’t like she’d rung the doorbell at midnight. It was nearly twelve noon.

Rey found her smartphone with the cracked screen- a hand-me-down from Unkar- and groaned to see a dozen missed calls and even more texts from Jess. She made her way to the kitchen, clutching the device.

The smell of cooking batter greeted her nose. Waffles. The bloody man had made waffles. Perhaps she _was_ a pixie in fairyland because there was no way a guy as perfect as him existed in real life.

“What’s that?” Ben asked, nodding at her clenched hand. His hair was still damp from his shower and he was dressed in jeans and a black sweater.

He pushed a plate loaded with two waffles, butter and syrup towards her. Her stomach made pleading noises and he grinned. She couldn’t stand it- even her digestive system was at his mercy.

“Jess has been calling,” Rey said, placing her phone on the kitchen bench top. She suddenly wished she hadn’t, seeing its shattered screen and shabby casing lying against pristine white marble.

Ben grunted irritably. “Jessika has no right. She dragged you here to convince me that her story about needing peace and quiet to study was legitimate, am I right?”

Rey nodded, hopping onto one of four sleek modern stools at the kitchen bench and digging into her waffles. She took a bite and nearly whimpered. Delicious.

“What should I say to Jess? Obviously, she can’t know about what happened last night. You wouldn’t want your wife finding out either.”

Rey wished she hadn’t put it quite that way when Ben’s expression hardened. He leaned forward on well-muscled arms, bringing his head close to hers. Suddenly, she had no appetite.

“Can you keep a secret, Rey?” he asked, low and intense. “Can I trust you to be a good girl and zip your lip?”

Oh, she so wished he was back to calling her Tinkerbell.

A tremor went through her body and she laid down her cutlery. Rey spoke with heartfelt sincerity. “You can trust me, Ben. I’d never… I wouldn’t dare… I won’t betray you. Ever. I promise.”

He looked at her intently for a second or two before his expression softened. “Is that right?”

She nodded frantically.

“What did I do to deserve you, Tink?” he sighed, so quietly it seemed like he was talking to himself. He straightened up again and ran his fingers through mussed black hair. “You can tell Jessika I stormed into the guest room and discovered she wasn’t there. Feel free to make me sound like a bastard of the first order. I threatened to tell your foster parents that you’d lied about the study date, but you cried and begged so I relented. I let you sleep here and sent you home with my driver.”

“Okay,” Rey said, eyes wide.

The story was not just plausible, it was entirely probable. It was what _should_ have happened last night, she realised. Instead the fittest bloke in London had kissed her, fed her and fucked her, exactly in that order.

A quiver of remembered desire ran through her muscles, dampening her panties.

“Ben?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

He was seated beside her, legs significantly longer than hers, thighs twice the thickness, hard with corded muscle. His long fingers, the same ones that had played her body like a violin all night, cut into his breakfast with deft strokes. His broad shoulders stretched the yoke of his jumper, making him look strong. Tough.

A man like him would be enough for her, Rey decided. She was so hungry for family and love and life that she never considered romance an option. She had too much to do, to study, to achieve. She needed to ensure her every choice was careful and sensible, that she created safety nets for herself just in case plans failed because there was literally no one to catch her if she fell. But this man... he was enough.

Rey bit her lower lip, trying to formulate what she wanted to say. Her brain was telling her to stop being so foolish, but her heart… oh, her heart was bleeding with its need for Ben.

What if he was the one? Not actually _the_ one, because Rey was too smart to believe in destiny and fate and two halves of one soul, but what if life and circumstance and timing had combined to bring this man to her for more than just one night? What if?

She had to know. She had to try.

“What’s up, buttercup?” he teased, giving her a whimsical smile.

“Ben, could we… I mean, do you think… would you like to…” Rey grew redder as she stammered and stuttered, waffles growing cold as her thoughts failed to coalesce into a clear picture. She took a deep breath, feeling the moment slipping away with every passing second, and blurted out, “Could I see you again?”

He said nothing, his expression unreadable.

“I- I understand if you want to make it work with your wife…”

He grimaced. “Hell, no. I started divorce proceedings a week ago.”

“Oh, good.” Rey blushed as Ben grinned. “Oh, no, I don’t mean good. I just meant…”

“Rey,” he said gently and her heart took a tumble. It was never a good thing when he called her by name.

She rushed on, wanting to present her case. In this scenario, he was judge, jury and executioner.

“I know I’m young and in school with Jess and you wouldn’t want to be seen with me right now, but in a few months’ time I’ll be at university and that might be okay. We could get to know each other and maybe have coffee if you’re free? I’m not asking for a commitment or anything. I wouldn’t dare to presume that you- you like me as much as I like you…”

“Tink,” Ben interrupted her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I leave for America tonight.”

Rey felt like someone had punched her in the gut. “Oh. Right.”

_Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry…_

Pixies and fairy dust and happily ever afters might exist, but not for her.

Ben’s hand grasped the back of her stool, twisting it so she was facing him. “Don’t look like that, Tinkerbell. You’re better off without me.”

Rey glared at him. “I don’t believe that,” she snapped. “All my life I’ve told myself I didn't need my parents, but that’s a load of bollocks.”

“In this case it’s true,” Ben said firmly. “I’m an adult male in the throes of divorce proceedings. I’m gonna have to work through a cheating wife and a failed marriage, both of which have turned me into a moody, sulky monster. You don’t need my baggage, sweetheart.”

She frowned. “You’re not a monster.”

“Maybe not to you,” he said slowly. “You’re the first thing that’s brought me joy in months, Tinkerbell, and for that I will forever be grateful.”

Rey heard the finality of his tone and retreated into herself. “I understand,” she said politely. “I’ve already packed my bag. May I go?”

Ben muttered darkly under his breath. He drew her against him in a rough hug, dropping a kiss on top of her head. “You’ll be fine, Tink. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

Rey allowed herself a brief moment of weakness. She wrapped her arms around Ben’s waist and held tight, tears leaking from under clenched eyelids. She wished she could believe him.


	6. Crazy Over You And Me

“Have we disappeared down a black hole of despair?”

Rey asked the question mournfully, causing muted laughter amongst her group of friends. None of them dared reveal their discontent to the woman of the hour.

Bazine Netal stood resplendent in a heavily embroidered Vera Wang princess cut wedding gown on a stone balcony overlooking Italy’s Lake Como. The view was breathtaking, tranquil blue waters set against a mountainous backdrop, as gorgeous as it was exclusive.

Baz’s twelve-foot veil had caught in a gust of air and her photographer was frantically clicking away, trying to capture the moment. The bride gazed into the distance, attempting to appear serene and not like she’d just been screaming at her makeup artist.

Rey felt a momentary pang of… something. Not regret, not really. She was twenty-eight years old with no romantic prospects, but that was okay. She lived a good life and it was only moments like this that caused her to think otherwise.

Beside her Rose Tico wriggled, trying to get away from Finn Jones’ amorous embrace. They were always an affectionate couple, but Italy had turned Finn into the human equivalent of a grabby octopus. Rose pretended not to enjoy the attention, but Rey knew her friend was loving every second.

Rey experienced another twinge of regret and firmly stamped down on it. Finn had been her first real boyfriend at Cambridge but they'd decided three months into a tumultuous romance that they were better off as friends. Finn wanted to be her everything and it had taken Rey several weeks to realise she didn’t feel the same way.

She should have known better. Only one guy had ever made her want to dive headfirst into a relationship with reckless abandonment.

Rey eventually graduated with an honours degree in engineering and began working at First Order Incorporated in one of their many graduate programs. Slave labour, her fellow new starters liked to call it. That was where she met sweet, bubbly Rose Tico and made another close friend.

Rey usually felt good knowing she’d introduced Finn to the love of his life. Usually. She decided to give herself a break considering she was standing in the most romantic spot on earth in formal wear celebrating yet another couple’s forever love. _Ech._

Not that she wanted to be in Bazine’s designer shoes. Nope, not at all. Rey would rather lose everything she’d worked for in the last ten years than marry Edwin Snoke.

Rey, Bazine and Rose had all started in First Order at the same time, doing the same fiddly jobs that senior engineers couldn’t be bothered with, drafting plans and attending site visits only to have someone else take credit for their work. All three had slowly climbed the corporate ladder of the huge company, but Rey noticed Bazine always seemed to stay one rung ahead of her peers.

It had driven Rey crazy. As it was, she and Baz had conflicting personalities, what with Baz’s slinky, sultry demeanour and Rey’s no-nonsense attitude. Rose was often the peacekeeper on those nights the girls found themselves at a pub with too many beers inside them.

Eventually it all came out that Baz wasn’t above dating a manager or two to get her way. The sexy brunette left a trail of broken hearts in her wake until the day she hooked the biggest fish there was- Edwin Jeremiah Snoke.

Rey glanced at the groom who was currently haranguing one of his three assistants about a memo he wanted sent out yesterday. He was such a complete wanker.

Snoke was significantly older than them with a thick head of silver hair and a lean body that looked respectable in a white designer tux. Baz could have done worse in the old geezer department, she supposed. He was the chief executive officer of First Order and had enough money to ensure his beloved Bazine got everything she wanted, including a wedding that cost more than Rey’s studio apartment.

But every time Rey looked into Snoke’s chilly grey eyes or caught a glimpse of his hard hatchet face, she shuddered. The idea of going to bed with him was repulsive. It would be like sleeping with a dead fish.

Rey reminded herself again that Bazine was entitled to love whomever she wanted, and if that ‘love’ meant her friend never had to work another day in her life thanks to her multi-millionaire husband, then so be it.

Not long after Snoke proposed with a ten-carat princess-cut diamond, Bazine had asked Rose and Rey to be maid of honour and bridesmaid respectively. Surprise, surprise, Baz didn’t have that many girlfriends to make up her bridal party.

Typical Baz, she decided she wanted a flash white wedding to rival a royal. At the moment, Rey’s chestnut red locks and Rose’s black curls were swept up with clusters of white rosebuds. Their sleek satin gowns were a warm white (as opposed to Baz’s ice white bridal dress) and white heels were strapped onto their aching feet. They’d been hanging around the photo shoot for the best part of four hours.

Finn had gone sightseeing and only just returned to Villa Del Balbianello. He’d tagged along as Rose’s plus one and Rey had invited Finn’s best mate Poe Dameron as hers. Poe had already offered to show Rey his gratitude for the invitation with some canoodling of their own, but she wasn’t feeling it.

If she was being honest, she’d considered hooking up with Poe more than once. He was handsome, suave and charming. He made her laugh and didn’t take life too seriously; which Finn would testify was a good thing since it balanced out Rey’s more sombre world view. But despite the fact Poe was offering no-strings-attached sex with zero repercussions, Rey hadn’t been able to cross that line.

After growing up unattached to every human being in her life, the idea of more shallow connections was distasteful to her. Finn had been different. He was a truly decent guy and she’d convinced herself for a while that maybe they could make it work. Poe on the other hand was easy, a philanderer who didn’t pretend to be anything more than what his lifestyle suggested. Except Rey didn’t want easy.

She wanted a committed relationship with all the hard work and arguing and compromising and angst that came with it. She wanted a man who would love her fiercely and challenge her every day. She wanted someone who didn’t think a lifetime was too long. She wanted… she wanted…

As the sun set behind the Legnone mountain ranges, Rey’s heart thumped painfully against her ribcage. She felt like she was suffocating.

She slapped a smile on her face and turned to face Finn and Rose. “So where’s Poe?”

“Crashed out in our room,” Finn grinned. “He partied all night.”

As part of the agreement Rey had made to bring Poe along, she’d insisted Finn and Poe share a room while she and Rose claimed the other one. It didn’t stop Finn and Rose from shagging at odd hours, but at least Rey didn’t have to worry about Poe bringing back some hot Italian piece after a drunken night.

“Of course he is,” Rey said, rolling her eyes. “Does he know about the rehearsal dinner?”

“That’s less than an hour away,” Rose said under her breath with a discreet glance at her phone.

The photoshoot had gone on for much longer than they’d anticipated. Bazine was a perfectionist, reducing her assistant to tears and causing the hairdresser to walk off. Rey and Rose were trying to grin and bear it as dutiful members of the bridal party.

Snoke’s best man Armitage Hux had it much easier. He’d grimaced through a series of group photos before disappearing again. Rey wished she had the gumption to do the same. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

“Why can’t you girls attend tonight’s dinner in what you’re wearing now?” Finn helpfully suggested.

Rose and Rey gave him withering looks that would have crushed a harder man than him.

“The wedding is tomorrow, Finn. That’s the only acceptable time for us to appear in public in our bridesmaid dresses,” Rose informed him irritably.

Rey bit back a grin at Finn’s surprised expression. Rose so rarely lost her temper. He mumbled something about only trying to help and promptly fell silent when his girlfriend scowled.

“Seriously, though,” Rey said quietly to Rose, “if Baz doesn’t wrap up the photoshoot soon, we’re all going to be late.”

As if on cue, the Italian photographer declared, _“E abbiamo finito.”_

Rey breathed a sigh of relief. The first thing she intended to do was remove the stilettos nearly crippling her feet.

“Are you sure you’ve taken enough shots?” Baz protested.

Beside Rey, Rose stiffened in outrage.

“We don’t have any more light,” the photographer dismissed Baz’s question in his thick Italian accent. As if in support, the sun disappeared completely into the horizon.

“Oh, thank God,” Rose muttered.

“We can go?” Finn asked hopefully.

“Time to get changed for dinner,” Rey said grimly as Bazine approached them.

“Rose, could you come back to my suite with me? Edwin doesn’t trust Armie with the wedding bands. I thought if I give them to you then you could hand them to him before the ceremony tomorrow.”

“Can’t you give Rose the rings when we’re getting ready in the morning?” Rey asked incredulously.

Baz’s sapphire blue eyes narrowed and Rose quickly stepped in. “That’s a great idea, Baz. It’ll be one less thing on your mind.”

Bazine sniffed and swept away, Rose and her red-eyed assistant Kaydel trailing after her.

“I can see the headline now. Bloodbath At Lake Como: Bridesmaid Kills Bride After Too Many Photos Are Taken.”

Rey glared at Finn who was snickering to himself. When the snickering turned into outright guffaws, she gave a reluctant smile.

“Bazine is a right royal scrubber, she is,” Rey sighed.

“Yeah, but you knew that already,” Finn chuckled.

He slipped an arm through Rey’s, walking with her along the balcony that wrapped around the sandstone villa. Now that Bazine and her entourage had disappeared, it was blessedly quiet.

“I wish the four of us could escape to some hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant,” Rey groused.

“And drink some vino,” Finn agreed cheerfully. “That plan is more likely to get Poe out of bed than the rehearsal dinner. However, Snoke is paying for you girls to be here for one purpose only. We’re bloody lucky to be getting a free trip out of all this.”

She scowled. “I know, I know. So Rose keeps telling me.”

“You alright?” Finn asked, his dark eyes on her face.

“I just need a break from the wedding,” Rey replied, forcing a smile for his benefit.

She glanced at her watch. Another fifteen minutes had gone by and she still needed to get changed and make sure she gave Kaydel her dress so it could be dry-cleaned overnight by the hotel laundry. She hoped she had time for a hot shower.

Arm-in-arm with Finn, Rey stepped through an arched doorway and emerged in the main foyer of the hotel. The space was richly carpeted in dull gold and covered in antique furniture. The front desk was a polished mahogany monstrosity that must have been centuries old.

Finn was already steering Rey towards equally ancient elevators when a man walked into the hotel.

He was tall and broad with black hair long enough to cover his ears, mussed in a way that spoke of an expensive hairdresser. He wore a dark grey suit with a white pinstripe, the jacket, trousers and vest tailored to his impressive physique. His shirt was black silk, his tie like tarnished silver, black loafers polished to a mirror finish. Gold glinted at his wrist in the form of a chunky watch and there was more gold on his cuffs.

Typical rich tosser, Rey thought idly.

She met the newcomer’s gaze from across the room and nearly lost her footing.

Finn clutched her arm, giving her a strange look. “You okay, love?”

No, Rey was not okay.

After ten years of wishing, hoping and dreaming, Ben Solo had just walked back into her life.


	7. A Little Crush

“Ben!”

The man of Rey’s dreams looked frozen in place, his expression indecipherable. Ben’s gaze flicked from Rey’s face to her arm linked with Finn’s, and then to Finn himself. Rey immediately pulled her hand from Finn’s grip.

“Who’s that guy, Rey?” Finn asked quietly.

She shook her head. “I’ll tell you later.”

Rey nudged Finn toward the elevator before she approached Ben. Her mouth was like cotton wool, her legs shaking.

She wanted to run into his arms, but Ben’s face was strangely distant. Surely he knew who she was. Good grief, please let him know who she was.

A tremor of uncertainty slowed Rey’s steps. Was she so forgettable?

She stopped five feet away from him, feeling foolish. She was such a muppet thinking he’d want to see her again. Or that he’d thought about her at all over the last decade.

Ben looked really, really good. His hair was still as black as night, his skin that clear pallor that was as healthy as a tan, his body as thick and strong as ever. Thicker? Stronger? Or had she just forgotten how big he was?

Fate could not have picked a better time for Ben to come across her.

She was dressed in the hideously expensive Vera Wang bridesmaid gown Baz had chosen that made Rey’s boyish figure look lithe and sensual, her slight curves on display thanks to a plunging neckline and buttery soft white satin that moulded to her form. She was suddenly grateful for the five-inch heels killing her feet, giving her extra height so she didn’t feel quite so small next to Ben.

Rey hoped she’d grown up, become more mature and sophisticated, but now that she was standing in front of this man she was regressing into an awkward schoolgirl. She felt a need to apologise even though she’d done nothing wrong- _I’m sorry you don’t remember me… I’m sorry I yelled your name when you clearly don’t know mine… I’m sorry for breathing your air and taking your time._

And then he spoke.

“Hells bells, Tinkerbell, you’re not who I expected to see in this mausoleum.”

Rey smiled in relief, the nickname warming her cheeks. He remembered her- what a relief. She didn’t feel like such a gormless loser anymore.

Ben had been her only fantasy for years, the male lover that came in her dreams and always left her satisfied. It was excruciating to think their past encounter mattered nothing to him.

“It’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed, cringing on the inside at how loudly her voice echoed through the hotel foyer.

He didn’t respond in kind and Rey’s joy dimmed.

“How are you?” she soldiered on, because how could she not try with Ben bloody Solo standing in front of her once more?

Ben shrugged. “Not as good as you, clearly.”

His hot gaze swept over her and Rey felt confused. What did he mean? Ben was dressed like he’d come from the fashion houses of Tom Ford. How was she doing any better than him?

“Who’s the dude?”

It took Rey a second to understand his question. “That was Finn. We met at Cambridge,” she told him. “He’s my best friend.”

“Lucky guy,” Ben said sourly.

Rey was beginning to feel angry. She must have stumbled across Ben in a bad mood. Except it was ten years since they last laid eyes (or hands) on each other. Couldn’t he pretend to be a little pleased?

Rey decided to bite the bullet. Maybe Ben had had a fight with his new wife who was also a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and Rey’s insipid presence was annoying him. “Are you here with anyone?”

Ben scowled outright. “Trying to rub salt in the wound, Tink?”

Her mouth dropped open. What salt in which wound? Was he referring to the fact that the last time they’d met his marriage was coming to a bitter end? Did Ben really think she meant to bring up such a dark time in his life?

Rey thought she would go crazy trying to decipher this man. She only knew she couldn’t let him escape. Seeing him again was like catching a glimpse of a unicorn.

She threw caution to the wind. Rey grabbed Ben by the hand and pulled him through the villa’s arched doorway back onto the balcony. The moon had risen, bathing everything in a ghostly light, leeching the world around them of colour.

Ben pulled his hand away from hers, his jaw set. “What are you playing at, Rey?”

“Nothing,” she gasped, stung by his actions. “I’m not playing. I want to talk to you, that’s all.”

“Why?” he asked angrily.

She stared at him, on the verge of screaming in frustration.

She’d done this once before. Back then she was as naïve as a kitten, declaring she wanted to get to know Ben better, as if he cared about her at all.

Rey had re-lived their final conversation so many times. In each recollection she would argue persuasively why he should stay, why theirs was a love for the ages. And in every instance, no matter what she said, he walked away.

Now here she was, in Italy of all places, threatening to ruin an all-expense paid destination wedding with shattered expectations and a broken heart. But would he break her heart?

The logical, rational side of Rey that protected herself from bad decision-making was screaming at her to stop. As usual, however, her desire for Ben overrode her need to shield herself.

She took a deep breath. “I think about you all the time, Ben. Don’t you think about me?”

He stared at her in obvious astonishment, amber eyes strangely luminous in the night, his hair as black as ink and skin as pale as moonshine. Trust him to look incredible no matter what the light. She was probably all sickly and washed out and…

Ben took a step forward, his hands cupping her face as he bent over and kissed her. Rey froze in his arms, shocked by the warmth of his lips and tongue. A whole second went by before she responded. Her arms lifted, wrapping around his neck, her feet lifting onto her toes. She tilted her head to one side and parted her mouth, inviting him in.

More, more, more. She wanted more.

Their lips mashed together, tongues tangling. He tasted like liquorice and smelled like cologne and sugared lemons. Rey wanted to bottle his scent. The kiss went on until she was moist and aching in places that hadn’t been touched in so long. She could feel Ben’s erection pressed against her hip, thick and hard.

He was aroused by her. She nearly wept with relief. This was all she wanted, another chance to be with this man, to prove to him she was ready to be a part of his life. They could take things slow, date for a while before they took things to the next level… or she could let him shag her against the carved stone balustrade on which they leant.

Ben’s big hands were tight around her waist, their grip punishing. Rey suspected there would be bruises in the morning and she was gleeful at the idea. She wanted him to leave his fingerprints all over her body.

Rey let out a sweet moan, sliding her fingers down his chest. And just as quickly as he’d started kissing her, Ben backed away.

Rey clutched a nearby post so she wouldn’t lose her balance.

“Fuck!” Ben yelled at the night air, hands clenched into fists.

Rey quivered, not understanding his rage. “Ben, what…?”

“We shouldn’t be doing this, Rey,” he snapped.

There he went, calling her Rey again.

“Why not?” she asked plaintively. “This is my choice. I- I want to be with you. I never thought I’d get another opportunity to say that to your face.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he snarled. “I nearly ruined your life once by seducing you as a teenager. I’m not about to do it again.”

“How will you ruin my life?” Rey yelled, but Ben had already turned his back on her.

She ran after him, breathless and flushed from a riot of emotions. What was wrong with him? She couldn’t understand his rationale. Ten years ago, she’d been a high schooler and he a businessman going through an acrimonious divorce. But now… what was so wrong with the idea of them now?

Maybe he was unavailable. Perhaps he’d re-married and didn’t want to say. Rey tried to look for a wedding band on Ben’s finger but she couldn’t see one.

“Don’t go,” she said, grabbing his arm.

Ben turned around and the anguish on his face made her take a step back. “Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be, Tink.”

She shook her head. “What are you saying? Please, just talk to me.”

“Rey, there you are!”

Reluctantly, Rey turned away from Ben. Rose was stepping out of the rickety hotel elevator dressed in a blush pink cocktail dress. In accordance with Bazine’s ‘white wedding’ theme, guests were to be dressed in either blush, ivory or champagne for any wedding related gatherings.

“You’re late for the rehearsal dinner,” Rose exclaimed. “What are you thinking? Finn’s already waiting.”

Rey couldn’t care less. Ben was heading out the front door.

Hadn’t he just arrived at the hotel? Was he leaving again because of her?

“Ben, wait!” she called, her voice wobbling with tears.

He paused, turning to face her. “Let it go, Tinkerbell. You and I were never meant to have more than one magical night together.”

And with those words, her unicorn disappeared into the Italian countryside.

The rest of Rey’s evening was a blur.

She returned to her room and changed into a champagne silk dress, even remembering to hand her bridesmaid’s gown to Kaydel though her actions were robotic. She spent the rehearsal dinner pretending to be okay, not hearing any of the speeches and ignoring Rose and Finn’s curiosity over Ben.

Rey had never discussed Ben Solo with anyone. He was a secret she’d happily kept. Hadn’t she promised him she’d do exactly that? What a fool she was.

She had always viewed the moment they shared as special and his final words seemed to suggest he felt it too. He’d called that night ten years ago ‘magical’.

Not magical enough to try again with her, though.

Rey didn’t cry even though her head was heavy. She went to bed early but sleep eluded her. She couldn’t believe the same man who’d captured her heart a decade ago was breaking it in two all over again.

She had to forget about Ben. She could literally spend the rest of her life trying to decipher the oddly emotional conversation she’d had with him, re-playing his kiss on a loop in her head (why, oh why had he kissed her, damn him?), but she refused to do it. She was stronger than that.

Rey made up her mind. Tomorrow evening at Bazine and Snoke’s wedding reception, she would get absolutely smashed on Italian wine and invite Poe into her bed. He could be a palate cleanser of sorts.

After that, who knew? Maybe she would finally find someone stable with whom she could fall in love.


	8. Date With Destiny

Bazine and Snoke’s wedding was stupendous.

Cascades of white flowers- roses, lilies, orchids, carnations, gerberas- filled the air with their heady perfume. The arrangements even attracted butterflies and bees. The chairs were wrapped in white satin, each guest received a white wicker basket of white flower petals to rain down on the newly wedded couple. Lake Como itself remained the most breathtaking aspect of the whole day, the blue waters and hazy mountain ranges almost fairy tale-esque in their beauty.

Rey stood with Rose to one side of the white dais as Bazine and Snoke repeated their vows. She realised Armitage Hux was eyeing her from his position behind Snoke and glared briefly at the tall redhead. He smirked in response.

Rey grew concerned about her own emotional stability when she started considering Armie as a potential booty call rather than Poe. The guy hadn’t spoken two words to her since they were introduced. Was she attracted to him _because_ he’d treated her like rubbish? She refused to be that girl.

She was in pain and vulnerable because of it. The man she wanted to scream at simply wasn’t there and her brain was looking for substitutes.

As if deciding to check on that fact, Rey cast her eyes over the gathered crowd. They were mostly Snoke’s business associates, which didn’t really interest her, but she’d already grown tired of the couple’s professionally written vows. Rey idly scanned rows of baby pink and ivory clothed guests until her gaze zeroed in on a pair of stupendous shoulders in a black tux.

Ben.

Ben Solo.

Here. In the crowd.

What the actual hell?

He was at Bazine’s wedding, looking so out of place in jet black that it was laughable. Even Finn and Poe had made sure to dress in light suits.

Ben looked angry, his handsome face like thunder. What did he have to be angry about apart from stuffing up the dress code?

She wondered what it would be like to go to bed with an angry Ben and a shiver worked its way down her spine. He’d been so careful with her virginal teenage body ten years ago. She could hold her own now, meet his unbridled passion with a confidence she hadn’t had before.

Rey felt a spark of desire and stomped down hard on it.

No, nope, no way. She was getting off the roller coaster ride that was Ben Solo. She might have to take out advertising space to declare her feelings for him dead and gone, but that was okay. He’d made it pretty clear he thought it a mistake to be with her.

Then why was he staring at her like that, his intense amber gaze burning a hole in the back of her head? Something was wrong with the man.

_Who cares? You’re not his psychiatrist._

Wait. Did that mean Ben had showed up last night for Bazine and Snoke’s rehearsal dinner? And she’d scared him away. Good going, Rey.

Except how did she, a twenty-something female engineer only just getting her life and finances together, frighten Ben Solo, billionaire director of a conglomerate that included First Order Incorporated? Nothing made sense.

_You promised yourself no more obsessing about Ben._

Rey was so turned around that she almost forgot to clap as the celebrant proclaimed Snoke and Bazine husband and wife. The happy couple walked down the aisle under a shower of white petals, a string quartet playing a soaring version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

Instead of feeling relief that the ceremony was over, Rey was more tense than ever knowing Ben was in the crowd of well-wishers surrounding the newlyweds.

Change of plans. Thanks to the harrowing four hours in front of the camera that they’d put in yesterday, the only thing Rose and Rey had to do was avoid soiling their shining ivory bridesmaid gowns before they walked into the hotel ballroom in three hours’ time for the reception.

But Rey couldn’t sit through an entire dinner with Ben in attendance. She needed to leave for her own health and wellbeing since he was liable to drive her out of her mind. She might start crying hysterically while glutting herself on Bazine’s chosen bonbonniere of champagne truffles.

“We’ve got a few hours to kill before dinner. Poe found this gorgeous café around the corner. Sound good to you?” Rose asked.

Rey hesitated. It wasn’t a bad idea, but she didn’t want to run the risk of seeing Ben. Also, if she intended on skipping the wedding reception entirely, it was probably a good idea to lay the groundwork for her disappearing act.

“Actually, I might head back to the room, Rose,” Rey said mendaciously. “I’m not feeling that great.” Which was the truth, she tried to tell herself.

Her friend reached out and touched Rey’s forehead with the back of her hand. “You’re looking a little flushed,” she agreed. “Is that why you’ve been so quiet all morning?”

Rey shrugged, not wanting to dig herself into a deeper hole.

“Rey, you’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?” Rose’s dark eyes shone with concern and Rey felt awful for her deception. “Does the way you’re feeling have anything to do with that guy from last night?”

“Don’t worry about me, Rose,” Rey said, sidestepping the question. “I just need to rest. You guys go ahead and enjoy real Italian coffee.”

Rose was reluctant to leave her side, but Finn finally whisked her away with a sympathetic look in Rey’s direction.

Rey waited a full half hour before she left the wedding staging area. She was the only one left in that section of the villa and she hoped to avoid any more accidental meetings.

She emerged in the cool of the hotel foyer, head aching. Her conscience was already starting to nag at her. Maybe she could show up for the start of the wedding reception, making Bazine happy before she made a discreet exit. After all, her room was only an elevator ride away.

Rey stepped into the elevator car and pressed the big plastic number three for her floor. Just as she was congratulating herself on getting away, a figure slipped through the doors with barely an inch to spare.

Rey gaped at Ben, gorgeous in a black tux and looming over her like a shade.

“What do you want?” she demanded, trying to regain her equilibrium.

He scowled at her. “Do you understand how close I came to walking away from you?”

“You did walk away from me,” she snapped, biting down on the inside of her cheek as she felt the sting of tears.

“Tink…”

“My name is Rey!” she yelled, the dam breaking. “You have no right, Ben! I’ve tried and tried and I’m done, do you hear me? I’m done yelling at an empty room because you aren’t there!”

Letting loose should have felt good but it didn’t. Rey sagged against the side of the elevator, trembling with emotions and adrenaline. She felt sad and lonely and hurt.

“The room isn’t empty anymore, sweetheart. I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.”

She gasped. “Last night, you said… you said…”

“I read the situation wrong.”

Ben took a step forward and Rey shrank away from him. She was terrified of this man. He could break her with a handful of words and she wasn’t prepared to let him.

“What are you saying?”

The elevator doors dinged open.

Ben took charge, because of course he did. He took the old-fashioned key from her hand and scooped Rey into his arms. She made a sound like an alarmed baby bird in its nest spotting a predator. He was unmoved, checking the number on the key’s leather fob and letting them into the room. He dropped her on a freshly made bed.

“Get out,” Rey hissed.

Ben ran a hand through his thick black hair and she nearly crumbled. She so badly wanted to kiss his cushiony lips as she tangled her fingers in those strands.

He faced her, still standing while she sprawled on Rose’s bed. “I’m not leaving until I explain what happened last night, Tink… Rey.”

“You said you didn’t want anything to do with me,” Rey said, lips quivering. “It’s cruel of you to be here now if all you’re looking for is the satisfaction of seeing me weak and needy…”

“Stop!” he roared, and when Ben Solo yelled windowpanes shivered. “I’m not trying to hurt you, baby. Last night, I thought…” He paused, shaking his head as if in disbelief.

“What?” Rey demanded.

How was she ever going to get over this? She was doomed.

Ben groaned like a wounded animal. He reached for her and she tried to scramble away but he was too quick. For a big man he sure moved fast.

He looped a long arm around her waist, pulling Rey to her feet and up against him, turning her so they both faced the antique vanity table.

Rey was shocked at what she saw. She was glowing, her hazel eyes as green as a spring leaf, her lips moist and parted, her cheeks pink. The slinky ivory satin gown was unable to hide her taut breasts, nipples hard and poking through sleek fabric. She looked aroused. Undone.

This man… the way he affected her was sinful.

Ben stood as solid as an oak behind her, head and shoulders taller, his body twice the breadth of her own, open palm pressed firm against her belly, holding her in place. “What do you see, Rey?” he asked, his voice unexpectedly tender.

The colour in her cheeks deepened. “Us,” she whispered.

Ben dropped his head, momentarily burying his nose in her chestnut red hair, already half fallen out of its bun. Rey involuntarily gripped the hand that was touching her.

“I see a young woman in a white dress. Do you understand yet, Tinkerbell? Do you know what you put me through?”

She shook her head, still confused.

“Rey, I walked into a hotel known for its luxury destination wedding packages and saw you in a white dress holding another man’s hand.”

Rey continued to blink at their reflection. It took a while for his words to make sense.

“Oh, Ben,” she said, mouth dropping open. “No. That’s not… But I told you. I explained Finn was my friend.”

“Your best friend, Tink. Most women marry their best friend.”

Rey tried to recall the scene from Ben’s point of view; she in a long white dress, Finn’s arm linked with hers, the two of them talking and laughing. She’d been so pleased that Ben had seen her all dolled up she hadn’t even considered...

“You thought I was at Lake Como for _my_ wedding,” she said dumbly. “You must be joking.”

He turned her around so she faced him, standing so close his legs were lost in the luxuriant fabric of her skirt. “What else was I supposed to think? And then you offered yourself to me as if you were unattached…”

“I am!”

“And I thought, here we go again. Another opportunity for me to ruin your life.”

She grasped his forearms. “You didn’t ruin my life the first time.”

He brushed a swoop of chestnut red hair off her face. “Rey, I never should have touched you. I was an angry, bitter man who’d just found out his wife was cheating on him and you… you were this tiny little creature, all eyes and hair, who’d blown into my life on pixie dust and dreams. I wanted you so badly. I wanted your innocence and your adoration and your love. I used you like medicine. You were balm at a time when I needed it the most, but it wasn’t fair on you, sweetheart. I should have fed you and put you to bed. Not fucked you hard enough that we were both seeing stars.”

“I loved every second I was with you,” she said, placing her hands on his chest, wanting to feel his heartbeat. “You did ruin me, but not in the way you think. I went to Cambridge and graduated with honours and found a good job. I have loyal friends who are like family to me. I never cared that you took my virginity, Ben. I only cared that I couldn’t see you again.” Rey lifted her face to meet his intent gaze. “I still compare every guy I meet to you and not a single one of them has matched up.”

He kissed her, a mere brush of lips, breathing into her before lifting his head again. “I thought about looking for you,” he admitted ruefully. “I hadn’t forgotten you either. But every time I’d consider hiring a private detective my brain would interfere. You were so pure, Tink, and I was a royal mess. Still am. I have it on good authority from my own parents that I’m a lot to take.”

Rey stared at Ben, her mind on overload. “Are you serious?”

He grinned. “You’re starting to look mad again, Tink. Should I duck and cover?”

 _“I’ve_ been looking for _you!”_ she screeched.

He frowned. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve researched you and your whole family. I know your mother is a Skywalker and was supposed to enter a political role. I read she met your father Han Solo and fell in love, that she chose him over the wishes of her own dad, Senator Anakin Skywalker. I know she was cut off and started Rebel Alliance as a way to make money, and that your dad would fly products to different states for her. They built the business from the ground up and then began merging with other failing companies, growing them exponentially. I read Snoke tried to stage a hostile takeover but your mother was ready, becoming the majority shareholder of First Order right under his nose.” Rey paused, a little breathless.

Ben gave her a funny look. “And the reason you know all this?”

“I wanted to find you,” she replied, suddenly exhausted. She was saying too much and he was going to think she was a right nutter. Well, too bad. It was all or nothing now. “I e-mailed all the companies your family owned, hoping one would reach you. And when that didn’t work, I applied for a job at First Order, hoping you might drop by for a visit.”

“I hate Snoke,” Ban said matter-of-factly. “Slimy bastard.”

“When I saw you yesterday… at first I thought I was dreaming. And then you kissed me and pushed me away…” Rey abruptly stopped talking. Her voice had become so high and squeaky only dogs could hear her.

“Tink, I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I thought… well, you know what I thought.”

“I can’t do this anymore,” she said, almost to herself.

Ben frowned. “Sweetheart…”

“No, I’m too old to be obsessing about a moment that took place a decade ago!” Rey breathed in deep, unable to believe she was about to deliver an ultimatum to her dream man. “I want you, Ben Solo, but if this is nothing more than a quick shag before you jump on a plane and leave for the States again… then just leave.”

His face stiffened and her heart plummeted to the ground. She took a step away from him.

“That’s a big commitment you’re asking of me, Rey.”

She nodded. “I know, but I’m willing and ready to take the plunge. Are you?”


	9. White Picket Fences In Your Eyes

Ben smiled, his dimples taking ten years off his face. “Silly pixie,” he murmured, swooping down and picking her up in his arms once more. “Why would I be with a normal woman when I could have you?”

Rey giggled as he walked over to her bed and placed her gently atop fresh sheets. She had a feeling they were about to lose their freshness.

“I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”

He kissed her forehead. “Trust me, it is.”

He began taking off his jacket, cummerbund and vest. His bow tie soon joined the pile. Her pulse skipped a beat as he undid the pearlescent buttons at his cuffs and unbuttoned his shirt.

His chest was as big and broad as she remembered and Rey drenched her panties in a gush of desire. She wanted to stroke his abs like a beloved pet. After ten years of daydreaming, she struggled to believe Ben was real.

“Are you sure it’s me you want, Ben?” she asked anxiously

He undid his belt, the snap of the buckle making her knees weak. Long fingers unzipped his fly before he paused. “I’ve never been more certain about anything in my whole like, Tinkerbell. Do you want to know why?”

She stared at him, momentarily overcome by the fierceness in his voice.

He grasped her delicate chin. “Answer me, Rey.”

She nodded frantically.

“Out loud,” he snapped.

“Y-yes, Ben,” she stammered.

“Shall I tell you what I’ve been doing these last ten years to ease my frustrations?” He tilted her chin upwards and kissed her full on the lips.

Rey whimpered when Ben pulled away. “Yes, please, Ben,” she replied quickly.

“Well, I’d go home and get naked,” he said, his voice a low growl, “and then I’d choose a lollipop from my specially ordered stash.”

Rey gaped at him, heart pounding in her chest.

Ben smirked. “You see, I still have this Pavlovian response to cherry flavoured candy. In my mind, the taste of it is forever linked to your lips and pussy, Tinkerbell.”

He pulled her onto her knees on the bed, kissing her wetly. “All I have to do is suck on something cherry and I’m as hard as steel.” He ran his hands from her shoulders down her back, cupping her buttocks. “And then I’d pump my cock in my fist until my thighs and stomach and chest were covered in cum.”

Rey took a sobbing breath. She reached for Ben but he captured her wrists.

“You’d think I’d be done after that, but I never am.” He kissed a bruise into the side of her neck, his lips hungry. “I’d lie there sucking on that damn lollipop, imagining you crawling up my body and cleaning me off with your tongue and I’d get hard once more. So then it would start all over again.”

“Ben…” Rey moaned, clinging to his chest.

“Do you think you’re the only one who struggled to forget, my little pixie?”

She was nearly hyperventilating with desire. “No more talking,” she mumbled, sliding a slim hand down the front of his pants, grasping his swollen shaft. “Please, daddy?”

His pupils blew wide open at her words, black swallowing amber. The next hour was a blur of sweaty limbs and sticky fluids.

Their first time, Rey was so impatient she simply lifted her dress and spread her legs. Ben tore the delicate lace thong from her body and slid balls deep into her in one stroke.

The second time they managed to tug the dress off over her head. It lay crumpled on the floor while Ben took her from behind.

The third time she was on top, riding his swollen cock at a gallop, howling, "Yes, daddy," as she came.

After all this, she lay spent in Ben’s arms, her head on his chest and their legs entangled.

“What now?” Rey asked, suddenly shy, unable to look him in the eye.

She was the one who’d demanded a commitment, but she hadn’t specified what that would look like.

“Now we attend a wedding reception,” Ben said, chuckling at Rey’s shocked expression. “I’m only here as my mother’s representative, but Snoke getting married is what brought us together, Tink. Let’s be civilised.”

“If we must,” she grumbled into his bicep.

“May I also suggest you tender your resignation with First Order?”

Again, she stared at him. “What? Why?”

“My parents have been begging me to take time off. They think I work too hard, which is probably true. What about I show you America, sweetheart? Let me take you around- dinners, shows, nature reserves. We can do Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon in one weekend. There are so many cities to love.”

“And we’ll have sex in every one of them,” Rey added quite seriously.

Ben laughed again, surprising even himself. He never laughed this much. “Lots and lots of sex,” he agreed.

“I’ll have to meet your parents,” she told him.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Mom’s no picnic but dad’s pretty easy going.”

“Leia had you. She can’t be that bad.”

Ben hugged Rey close, wrapping his body around her so she all but disappeared inside his embrace. “Looks like we were always destined to be together, Tinkerbell.”

She shook her head. “Our fate was not chance, Ben. We did this. We never stopped loving each other. We hold our destiny ourselves.”

Amber eyes met hazel ones, deadly serious and interrogative. “Do you love me, Tinkerbell?”

Rey smiled serenely. “I always have, Ben.”

For her, that was enough. And it looked like it was enough for him too.

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this story came to me out of the blue a few weeks ago. I found the taboo nature of falling in love with your friend’s dad intriguing (even though I softened the blow by making Ben a young, hot stepdad rather than Jessika’s actual father). This was always going to be a one-shot, but it grew longer than I expected. 
> 
> Just as I started writing this fic, I discovered an old interview with Adam Driver by Michael Schulman of _The New Yorker_ titled ‘Adam Driver, The Original Man’ (it should still come up if Googled). Ben Solo of this tale has qualities inspired by that article. The journalist made Adam Driver sound like such a manly man- I couldn’t resist. 
> 
> The title of my fic comes from William Shakespeare: “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
> 
> I trust the British slang isn’t too incomprehensible. Being Australian myself, we do share many colloquialisms with the English. I hope you enjoy! Thank you to everyone for how kind you’ve been on my other fics. You guys are awesome. Comments are always welcome. Xoxo


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